MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: THE WEBER BROTHERS - WE

How can The Weber Brothers be better than the last time I heard them?  2011's Baddest Band In The Land was no mere brag, it was an explosion of roots rock that proved the Peterborough group to be the heirs to the great rock n' roll traditions, a modern-day equivalent of when The Hawks became The Band.  It was the most exciting album I'd heard that year, but that was then.  Now comes the new one, We, and The Weber Brothers have upped the stakes even further.

 

Bursting with ideas and influences, each of the ten songs here can barely contain the excitement and imagination of the group.  Solos fly, harmonies swell, and tracks take complete left-turns in the middle, with wonderful results.  Opener Long Days Done starts off as a piano boogie and ends with a surprise guest rap from guest PrufRock Shadowrunner.  Multi-part, dreamy harmonies drift through Before We Arrive, as if Neil Young joined the Everly Brothers.  Fuzzy psych-rock drives I Don't Need A Gun, as raw and loud as any punk track, while Early Or Late is straight doo-wop, right off the 50's street corner, complete with she-bop-she-bop answering vocals.  Simply put, is there anything this band can't do?  I want fifty copies to give to my music-loving friends.